Trump then touched on a number of subjects, from black voters ("The African-American community liked me. They liked what I was saying.") to Hillary Clinton ("I don't want to hurt the Clintons, I really don't. She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways.")

The meeting took place in the paper's Churchill Room and included a meal of salmon, beef tenderloin, squash, and cupcakes.

"But no one in the room is bothering to eat," reporter Mike Grynbaum tweeted.

The gathering was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but Trump announced on Twitter in the morning he had canceled it "when the terms and conditions of the meeting were changed at the last moment."

He later posted an update saying the meeting was back on for 12:30 p.m. ET. According to the Times' tweets, the meeting actually began around 1 p.m.

Grynbaum posted a photo of the guest list, which included 28 names — including Trump and his entourage (excluding security), and executives, editors, and journalists from the paper's staff.

The meeting's format seemed to have opening remarks from Trump and then a Q&A session with those in the room. It provided a glimpse into Trump's campaign, which ended on a high note when he defeated Clinton in the early hours of Nov. 9.

It was reported earlier Tuesday morning Trump would not seek to prosecute Clinton for her use of a private email server during her time as secretary of state and over claims her family's foundation might have conducted a pay-for-play scheme.

He spoke about that decision during the meeting with the Times.

“I don’t want to hurt the Clintons, I really don’t. She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways."

Trump was asked about his meeting with President Barack Obama, which occurred just days after he won the election. It was the first time the pair had met and came after a contentious campaign that saw Obama criticize the real-estate mogul several times as he stumped for Clinton.

"I had a great meeting with President Obama," Trump says, says he never met him before. "I really liked him a lot."

In terms of America's foreign policy, Trump said he does not think the United States should be "a nation-builder." And he noted "we have to solve that problem" regarding the crisis in Syria, which stems from a civil war and the Islamic State (ISIS).

“I would love to be the one who made peace with Israel and the Palestinians, that would be such a great achievement."

The meeting ended shortly after 2 p.m. Fox News showed Trump walking into the lobby of the paper's headquarters, with what seemed like hundreds of staffers gathered to catch a glimpse of the incoming president.

Trump shook hands with some security guards, waved to the crowd, and exited down a long corridor. It was a stark contrast to his entrance shortly before 1 p.m., during which he bypassed the lobby and the people gathered and instead hitched a ride on the freight elevator, according to Times reporter Vivian Lee.

Trump went upstairs through the freight elevator, meaning he eluded the huge crowd waiting in the lobby